Telecommunications

On a national and a global scale, the telecommunications industry has grown
like a jungle. While new companies_and career opportunities_spring up like
Jack's beanstalk, older companies intertwine with each other like vines for
mutual support and nourishment.

"The communications and information sector of our economy leads all other
sectors in job growth and the development of new products and services," says
Commissioner Susan Ness of the FCC. In the United States, the overall
telecommunications market (equipment and services) grew by more than 11% in
1997, generating revenues of $406.7 billion. Spending on telecom equipment grew
a vigorous 13% to $106.4 billion, while services, accounting for about 75% of
the 1997 revenue total, posted an 11% increase to $300.3 billion. Annual global
spending on telecom services, already $726 billion, is expected to grow to $1
trillion by 2001.

the search for cost-effective solutions for telecommunications issues and problems

an expanding international market

The companies at the forefront of this flourishing industry are household
names: AT&T is the world's largest long-distance and data communications
company; the recently merged MCI WorldCom comes in second, with Sprint in third
place. The local telephone markets are not far behind. Of the eight regional
"Baby" Bell companies, only four now remain: Ameritech, in eight midwestern
states; Bell Atlantic, whose recent merger with NYNEX and probable future merger
with GTE will give it a customer base of most of the Northeastern seaboard;
BellSouth, based in Atlanta and serving a nine-state region encompassing the
Southeast; and US West, with customers in 14 western and midwestern states. GTE
has a strong 28-state customer base and wireless, networking and international
holdings.

Any attempt to tell the players apartwith or without
scorecardsmust take into account the frenzied mating rituals within this
corporate jungle. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was intended to deregulate
the market and increase competition. Instead, telecom companies have been buying
new access to customers and existing networks by buying each other, in what has
been called "merger mania"_$77 billion worth of mergers in 1996. Of the ten most
lucrative U.S. corporate mergers of all time, three are recent telecom
transactions: Bell Atlantic and NYNEX ($22.7 billion), WorldCom and MCI ($37
billion), and Ameritech and SBC ($62 billion). (SBC had itself only recently
purchased Pacific Telesis.)

In June 1998, AT&T bought Teleport Communications Group, Inc., and announced
plans to merge with Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI). AirTouch Communications,
Inc., acquired the domestic wireless operations of US West Media Group, making
AirTouch second only to AT&T as a U.S. wireless provider. Bellcore, established
in 1984 to provide engineering and other services to the regional Bells, was
sold in 1997 to Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), a diversified
high-tech company based in San Diego.

HISTORY REPEATING

AT&T's first response to the Telecommunications Act was to divide, not
conquer. In order to compete more efficiently, it split into three enterprises
in 1996. AT&T continued to concentrate on telecommunications, while the newly
created Lucent Technologies (including Bell Laboratories) specialized in
communications equipment and NCR Corp. in computer manufacturing. This year, the
Denver-based US West followed AT&T's example and split in two. US West
Communications remains a 14-state phone company, while the US West Media Group
offers combined television, Internet and phone services over cable lines in
markets such as Atlanta, Boston and Detroit.

Also in Denver, Qwest Communications International acquired long-distance
carrier LCI International. "Colorado's telecommunications industry has become a
national landmark," says the Denver Post. "On last year's Forbes' list of the
400 richest Americans, four Coloradans named are all involved in the telecom
sector: Philip Anschutz of Qwest; John C. Malone of Tele-Communications Inc.;
Kenneth D. Tuchman of TeleTech, a phone services firm; and ge salary for an engineer entering the telecommunications job market
depends upon that engineer's specialty. According to the National Association of
Colleges and Employers, an electrical engineer might expect a salary of services and Bell Atlantic's local and
wireless phone service. "A telecommunications colossus for the 21st century,"
according to The Wall Street Journal, the merger could take as long as 18 months
to close, and faces strict scrutiny from regulators who are increasingly unhappy
with the merger mania.

FASTER & STRONGER

The industry's growth is also fueled by constantly emerging technologies. For
example, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have learned how to
control the chaotic fluctuations in light intensity produced by certain laser
systems. These fluctuations could be used to encode information being
transmitted from one laser to another through fiber optic cable. Lucent
Technologies has developed a system that can transmit as many as 400 billion
bits of data per second over a single strand of fiber. The new system can
transmit as many as 3.2 trillion bits of data a second, "the equivalent of
90,000 encyclopedia volumes in one second," says The Wall Street Journal.

Soon to be available are new technologies that will link users to the Net at
speeds as much as 250 times faster than standard modems. According to Business
Week, by 2001, nearly 80% of U.S. households will have fast access at hand, up
from 15% today, through digital subscriber line (DSL) service, which uses
advanced electronics to send data over conventional telephone wires. While
today's modems top out at 56,000 bits per second, DSL devices will be able to
send data at up to seven million bits per second. Invented a decade ago by
Bellcore, this new technology is backed by Microsoft, Intel, Compaq, Bell
Atlantic, US West, Hughes Electronic Corp., Ameritech and many cable companies.
The increased access to such technology will result in greater profits and more
jobs in the telecommunications industry.

The wireless-phone industry and the cable industry have both benefited from
new technology. There are over 50 million wireless phone users in the United
States alone, with a total of 180 million wireless customers worldwide.
Competition is especially keen in this sector, with AT&T, Sprint PCS (a
consortium of cable operators led by Sprint) and PrimeCo Personal Communications
(a joint venture of BellSouth, AirTouch and Bell Atlantic) as three of the major
players. Nokia, the world's second largest manufacturer of mobile phones, makes
an effort to maintain a cutting edge; according to its web page, one out of
every four of its employees works in Research and Development. Cable and
satellite systems such as Iridium (a consortium led by Motorola), Teledesic
(backed by Bill Gates as well as the company's owner, Craig McCaw), Globalstar
Telecommunications, Qualcomm and AirTouch now reach even the remotest areas.

DIALING FOR DOLLARS

And what are the career opportunities amid all this growth?

The mighty AT&T is trimming jobs, not hiring; it's expected to lose between
15,000 and 18,000 positions over the next two years. There is one exception:
sales and marketing positions are available, probably driven by AT&T's intense
competition to keep and improve its customer base.

Another Bellcore specification is a desire to travel and knowledge of a
foreign language. A foreign language will probably give a job seeker an edge
with any telecommunications companies, most of which are reaching out to the
global market. Since 1994, Sprint has joined in partnerships with Deutsche
Telecom (Germany), France Telecom and Telefonos de Mexico. Similarly, AT&T
recently announced a partnership with British Telecom in a $10 billion venture
to provide communications services for multinational companies. For its part,
BellSouth is noted for its strong Latin American investments.

The average salary for an engineer entering the telecommunications job market
depends upon that engineer's specialty. According to the National Association of
Colleges and Employers, an electrical engineer might expect a salary of $40,00
or more, with the possibility of as much as $60,000 with a specialization in
computers or communications technology. Computer engineers and computer
scientists might also receive salaries in the $40,000 range. Systems engineers
may receive from $44,000 to $53,000 for those specializing in software and data
processing. Those with information science degrees lagged behind slightly with
starting salaries of between $35,000 and $38,000.